Hey friends!
I cannot believe it is April 22nd already. Time is flying by as I am embracing my ninth month in Costa Rica.
Last night, a group from Columbia Bible College (my college) flew in and will be working in La Cuenca and Talamanca over the next 17 days! A good friend of mine (Jeremy Lind) is on this team and I am stoked to have him and new friends here. Please be in prayer about our time here. For many of them, it is their first time outside of North America and I am stoked to be a part of their new experiences. Today they are staying in home stays until Monday and then off to Talamanca on Tuesday. They will be doing home stays there also. Please pray for Dan as he will be head leading this team. I will be working alongside him in La Cuenca and Raul with him in Talamanca.
A couple of weeks ago, a youth from Los Lagos opened up to me about some personal struggles in his life which has ended up being an opportunity of "mentorship." I have been calling him every night as he requested with ending our time in prayer. We are meeting once a week to talk about life, how he is doing and his personal walk with the Lord. It is amazing to see what God is doing through this time. Please be in prayer that He will give me wisdom to speak into his life and open to what he may be teaching me. Also, that our "Spanglish" conversations will not be a hinderance to either of us.
I grew up in a Christian home and I have seen this verse used over and over again, "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." I am use to seeing it on a Sunday School sheet or a button. However, I just finished reading through the book of Joshua and I finally understood the intensity of this. Here is the whole verse:
"Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your forefathers served beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:14-15).
Wow. Okay, it seems as though Joshua is putting pressure here. A conscience, clear-cut decision needs to be made. You are either to worship God or not. You are to fear Him. You are to worship no one else, but Him. If He is not great enough then go serve someone else. I may not have "shrines" to other gods, however I do place other things in front of me that are not of God. I place my agenda, my longing for an education, even my "needs" and "wants" sometimes shines greater than the love of Christ in me. Am I or am I not serving God alone? I may be on a mission's internship, but am I putting Christ in the center of everything I do?
In Joshua 3, the priests crossed the Jordan River (during rainy season!) on dry land with the ark of the covenant. It was when the priests were in the middle that the Jewish people crossed over. As the community passed the Ark of the Covenant, it was a reminder that God was at the center of this. "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God" (Joshua 4:24). Am I reminder that God needs to be at the center of everything that I do? I will cross through the Jordans of life with Him at the center and Him alone. Nothing else could do.
I just have been really challenged by this and wanted to share that with you. Also, as a prayer request for the summer, especially June and July when 470 youth will be here, that I will be reminded to put God at the center all the time. He is the one that is powerful. He is the one that gives me strength. He is one who I find complete joy in.
With Christ's love,
Nate Smithlove,
Nate Smith
Post a Comment